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Yes, not using "dont" is part of positive framing. Like telling yourself to calm down instead of don't be anxious, or serve over the tape instead of don't serve into the net. The internal dialogue has to be positive and avoid negatives.

Another psychologist...

Hi all!

I've been reading through the entire thread - lots of interesting questions and suggestions (though I must admit I don't agree with everything).

I'm a psychologist myself, graduated about 4 years ago, and shortly after I started playing badminton a few times a week. I neither specialized on sports psychology nor have I taken part in courses related to sports psychology. However, most general concepts of psychology are not so difficult to apply to special areas like sports, and that's what I did. I think my game improved from that, and I'd like to share thoughts if anyone has any questions related to "mind-skills" in badminton or how to approach some situations in order to hopefully succeed.

Maybe in order not to be seen as "another Sigmund Freud", I shortly say what I'm specialized on. After graduation I started my PhD in the field of Neuropsychology, more specifically my research deals with differences between active and observational learning from feedback. I often put this into the context of badminton, e.g. what's going on in the brain and what are the effects when I learn from negative feedback (lost rallyes due to e.g. mishis) or positive feedback (won rallye due to e.g. clever shot) or when I learn from the observation of others getting this feedback. Despite this specialization, however, I hope I can also still remember more general theories to give comments on this and that if requested.

^ Hi, can you help me with my problem... I'm totally addicted to badminton that I get withdrawal symptoms if after a few days I don't get to hit a bird or hear the sharp crack sound of a bird being crisply hit.

Haha - funny, the same is happening to me these days! :-D No badminton at university between Dec. 22nd and Jan 7th - so what did I do? I tried to use the time for "badminton research", like threads here on BC or other sites. :-) That's also how I happened to reply to this thread. ;-)

Apart from that, if you want my professional advice, in order not to get withdrawal symptoms... PLAY BADMINTON! :-D Contrary to many other drugs, it's healthy. ;-)

My 9 YO when playing against better opponents in competitions, he thow his set away deliberately as if to end the match immediately. It starts when he tries his best but still cant get points (including diving etc). He starts to get anxious then desperate and after a series of unforced errors, he just broke down and deliberately hit out or hit the net to end the game. How do I repair this?

My 9 YO when playing against better opponents in competitions, he thow his set away deliberately as if to end the match immediately. It starts when he tries his best but still cant get points (including diving etc). He starts to get anxious then desperate and after a series of unforced errors, he just broke down and deliberately hit out or hit the net to end the game. How do I repair this?

Lee Chong Wei is a fantastic role model for your son and other badminton players. He did not win every game and in fact was knocked out in the early rounds when he first started to play internationally. Even at his peak he lost occasionally to lesser players during tournaments when his form took a hit.

So if WR1 LCW can fail but succeeded through hard work and persistence throughout his career, one must not give up but to try harder.

The case of Saina Nehwal against the Great Wall of China, is another interesting example. Hitherto, very few players can match up to the skills of the Chinese singles ladies, but SN has demonstrated that she is able to do so against all of them on a more consistent basis. It is the positive mental attitude of SN that she can conquer if she puts her mind and hard work to it.

With such examples, maybe your son could be persuaded to train harder and try to win as many points against better players and not be so disappointed at not winning the match. Keep on trying and remain focus at getting a point instead of throwing the points away. One point at a time, so they say. And one day he could achieve his goal of beating his opponents.

Perhaps my suggestion for your 9 yr old would be to not equate a loss as failure. In any game, there's only one winner but that doesn't mean the loser must be a failure. Reframe the loss as a learning experience and use it as a stepping stone to improving.

Thanks Loh for the tips on... "one point at the time." Sometimes we are so caught up with so many things, we forget the basics.

At first I thought the boy had low tolerence for pressure and cannot handle disappointments. As he is an intovert and taciturn, its difficult to read the workings of his mind. Later I realised he had the desire to win. He knew it was wrong behaviour to throw games away but I dont know how much he understands it. Perhaps we have put too much attention on him and he was overwhelmed by all the expectations. I think he is the type who dont thrive on limelights and prefers to stay low. Maybe he plays better as an underdog which I will have to be more sensitive of. Like the saying... "different strokes for different folks..." Our story here...

I agree with the previous suggestions for your son. I'd especially like to stress what visor wrote: It's very important how your son approaches such situations. Obviously, at the moment, he regards such situations as tests, and if he fails, he thinks there is nothing good about it. But such situations are different from e.g. vocabulary tests at school: For vocabulary tests, you have to learn in advance, you don't learn anything at the time of being tested. In competitions, you learn while you are being tested. To play against better opponents is - apart from technique - the key for most rapid improvement!
I remember for example Marc Zwiebler (Germany's No. 1 single player) saying that he primarily trains in Asia, because opponents are better there. If it was all about winning, he could have stayed in Germany, but at the next international tournament, he would have failed a lot more than if he had played against better opponents in the mean time.
I had a similar experience: When I was playing badminton at one university, I thought I was quite good after about 2 1/2 years. Then I started playing at another university, and I got confronted with players who were at a much higher level. It was very frustrating, but I didn't give up, and within 1 year I improved more than I did the first 2 1/2 years at the first university. In conclusion, you must be grateful to get the opportunity to play against better opponents! If they were not available, you would improve only very slowly.

Maybe you can tell your son about these examples. See if his approach improves. If not, dealing with frustration may be a more general problem for him. Then we can try some other techniques, but first try it this way...

At first I thought the boy has low tolerance to handle pressure. Its difficult to read whats going on in his mind since he is an introvert. I talked alot about this to him. But later I begin to realise he has the desire to win because he has asked me why he always lose in the early rounds of the tournaments. Perhaps he was overwhelmed by all the expectations on him to win. Maybe he performs better if he stayed out of the limelight - like an underdog. Perhaps he needs to approach his games in his own quiet ways instead of like EPL coaches shouting instructions across the field to his players how to move and play.

I guess the best way to find out is to ask him how he would feel most comfortable during tournaments - with a coach next to court, giving instructions between the rallyes, or being on his own (even some professional players prefer not to have a coach next to court, take a look at Juliane Schenk for example). And again with respect to approach: Maybe he feels more comfortable if he doesn't regard tournaments as events he has to win but rather as events to learn a lot from. Success will come naturally with progress. Thinking of the aim but at the same time neglecting the way to get to the aim - that's not of much help. So it may also help him not to think about what he wants to accomplish but rather to concentrate on the rallye he is playing at that very moment. If he wins the rallye, it shows he could put previously learned knowledge into practice. If he loses the rallye, he at the same time learns how to improve, which is the base to but the newly learned knowledge into practice later. Even if he's not aware of it and even if it's frustrating, it will help him to improve. But in order to improve, he must face the situation. If he gives up (like deliberately hitting into the net etc.), he doesn't allow himself to improve.

Thks Loh, Visor & Stefan,At first I thought the boy has low tolerance to handle pressure. Its difficult to read whats going on in his mind since he is an introvert. I talked alot about this to him. But later I begin to realise he has the desire to win because he has asked me why he always lose in the early rounds of the tournaments. Perhaps he was overwhelmed by all the expectations on him to win. Maybe he performs better if he stayed out of the limelight - like an underdog. Perhaps he needs to approach his games in his own quiet ways instead of like EPL coaches shouting instructions across the field to his players how to move and play.

Motivations and fun, thats the magic to bring young kids up

to excel in badminton!

Your son needs to understand there is a lot of difference

when it comes to their ages for playing badminton.

First, they learn the technique for the various skill suitable for them,

then more skills and complex drills until such time

when they are able to understand tactical and strategy play of the game

Last month in a local tournament MSSWPKL, he made it to quarters final and was playing against a player I considered too good for him. He lost the first set 13 - 21 and half way in the second set, he started to feel hopeless and broke down again! He was crying while playing. It ended 9 - 21. The coach just could not do anything except to console him.

In early April, he participated in another tournament by Times Badminton Academy in Kepong, KL. This time he played brilliantly to reach semi-finals. I was apprehensive but this time he didnt break. He fought all the way and lost by just 1 point 29 - 30. His victor went on to win in the finals. I was relieved but had it been a stronger player, would he break like before? Of course I didnt dwell on the negatives with him but just heap all the positives on him. I rewarded him with a Wilson racquet as promised.

There will be a couple of tournaments in May & June after his school exams. We continue to work on his emotions and guide him mentally. He still remains a target by his coaches to play for state next year because of his talent. More updates later or follow us from our blog.

This brings up an interesting topic, although it may be difficult for a teenager to attempt, but it will surely improve with time andpractice and can be used in daily life. I’m still attempting it when I play badminton or piano.

It is “wushin”. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mushin
The concept in martial arts literally meaning being in astate of no-mindedness. One good example of this is Bruce Lee. Watch how he moves: there’s no thinking, only instinctive reaction. In sports, this is also known as being “in the zone”. A state of mind where one is free of judgment and fear, and doesn’t require thinking or concentration of techniques or strategies. The mind can perceive effortlessly the whole playing field, the opponents’ positions, the ball/puck and the body can react and perform without hesitation as if the athlete is one with the flow of the sport. In psychology this is known as being “in the flow”, a state of total immersion, total concentration.

When one is in this state of mind, there is no fear, no regrets of mistakes. There is no pain or suffering. There is only performance purely based on instinctive reaction and muscle memory.